We put together a plan to visit Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, and Roosevelt National Park in Madora, ND, before our ACA rally in Spearfish, SD. I am constantly surprised by just how expansive these "little" square states are in the midwest. Bismarck, ND, was more than 300 miles from Rapid City, SD, so a stop mid-way was certainly a good idea.
The artwork we saw in Rapid City led Joani to research the sculptor, John Lopez. She found he had a studio in the small town of Lemmon, SD, which happened to be about half way to Bismarck. The only problem was there did not appear to be a good route that didn't take us through downtown Sturgis, SD, the destination for an expected 500,000+ motorcycles for "Bike Week." Since that was just getting started, it seemed prudent to avoid Sturgis.
Google maps showed another route using County Hwy MC-21 (New Underwood Rd.), but Google Maps Street View showed the last 10 miles to be a gravel road. My Rand McNally map also indicated it was gravel. Joani then noticed the Street View picture was taken in 2009 and I found my Rand McNally map was 2011 vintage. We studied Google Satellite View and Google Earth very carefully and determined it had been paved sometime in the last few years. Yea!, because the only other option added 50 miles to our route, so we decided to give County Hwy MC-21 a try.
The road was fine (certainly better than some Interstate highways we have traveled). The drive was 185 miles (89,169.2 total). Our "campground" was pretty minimal, but also very convenient. It was across the street from the Grand River Museum where we saw the first Lopez of many in this sleepy little town.
Triceratops Cowboy, by John Lopez, 2008
The whimsy of a cowboy riding a Triceratops made it one of my favorites.
I opted to drive to the studio although it was no more than a quarter mile from our coach. On the way, we took a little detour by the high school where we saw another Lopez sculpture.
Lemmon High School Mascot, by John Lopez 2012
Another two blocks away and we finally reached the studio. More original art was placed outside on each side of the building, so it was nice that it was not raining, but it might have been more pleasant if it had been 20 degrees cooler.
I suspect the little guy below would have a tough time staying on a Big Horn Sheep but maybe he's a cowboy prodigy.
Ram Tough, by John Lopez
We believe this metal tree was also a Lopez but it was so wildly different we were not really sure. It was positioned in front of the mural painted on the side of the building so that from the right angle it looked like a painting.
It was nice and cool inside where we were able to study several more John Lopez originals.
It was nice to have someone there to explain some of the symbolism worked into The Last Stand. The clash is obviously between Custer and Sitting Bull, but I would have had no idea about the dream Sitting Bull had about the horses or the lone cavalry horse that remained after the battle.
The Last Stand, by John Lopez 2016
Not all of his inspiration is about cowboys as you can see in the owl below and the peacock made mostly from silverware (Knives, forks and spoons) and the motorcycle gas tank octopus.
Steampunk Owl, by John Lopez, 2017
Silverware Peacock, by John Lopez 2009
Steampunk Octopus, by John Lopez
Several of his works were represented with photographs since they were sold and on display all around the country. Maybe we will see a few more of his pieces when we visit New Hampshire.
Moose, by John Lopez is in a private collection in Kensington, New Hampshire along with Wild West Buffalo and Friesian. Black Hawk is in a Farmer's Market in Kensington, New Hampshire, so maybe someday...
A couple of short blocks from the studio was a kitchy little museum dedicated to petrified wood. Apparently, as the area farmland has eroded away, petrified wood buried for millions of years was exposed. Being quite a nuisance for folks trying to farm the land it was just piled up until one enterprising man decided to create this little park.
"Late in the Cretaceous, beginning about 70 million years ago, and continuing through the Paleocene, until about 56 million years ago, western North Dakota’s climate was subtropical. Trees up to 12 feet in diameter and more than 100 feet tall grew in a setting similar to today’s Dismal Swamp in Virginia, or the Florida Everglades, with meandering rivers, swamps, and vast forested floodplains." John Bluemle
The plaque read, "In memory of Ole S. Quammen, father of Mrs. Harry C. Olson, the creator and donor of this, the world's largest Petrified Wood Park is of its kind."
Back at the coach, we walked across the street to actually go inside the Grand River Museum. Joani was excited to see another John Lopez sculpture commemorating the rather gruesome bear attack on an early settler named Hugh Glass. After he was mauled and left for dead by fellow travelers that also took his knife and gun, he made his way 200 miles back to civilization where his survival made him something of a legend. The Revenant, a movie released in 2015, was loosely based on the real life story of Hugh Glass.
Hugh Glass, by John Lopez, 2015
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